Y2Krackpots just won't listen

The "content warning" I pasted on last
week's column couldn't have been plainer.
It was an appeal to anyone who'd moved to Arctic
regions out of mortal fear that the Y2K computer glitch
would bring on what's become known as
TEOTWAWKI (a.k.a., The End of The World As We
Know It).
Don't read the column, I pleaded with them.
I even used an exclamation point or two for
emphasis.
I said I didn't want to be responsible for the
sled-dog-kicking rage that would ensue when their
doomsday dreams got shattered.
Did the Y2Krackpots listen?
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ...
Imagine my delight when I received this flaming
e-mail message from someone identifying himself as
Russ:
---"Idiot. Moron. You endanger people with your
rosy illustration of this UNPRECEDENDED event --
in which the IT professionals facing it every day are the
first to admit: THEY don't know how bad it will be.
Keep your dangerous optimism to yourself -- you
don't have the right to lull folks into a false sense of
security. YOU are ignorant of the problems' potential
for economic and social disaster ... Again: Idiot.
Moron. And ... YES! A great big ol' twitchy horses'
(expletive deleted)."
I can't say I was surprised that "Russ" would go
ahead and read the column despite my warning not to.
A big ol' sled-dog-kicking rage probably helps pass
the time while you're waiting to get eaten alive by polar
bears or something.

Humor and anguish

What did surprise me, however, was the outpouring
of messages from people who said they were fed up
with the media hype and were refreshed to find, in the
words of reader Mark Gentry, a "common sense
approach" to the problem.
(That approach, in a nutshell, is this: By all means
prudently stock up on food and other supplies the way
you might, say, for a bad storm -- not for a nuclear
winter. A ZDNET computer news service FAQ
specifies the kind of supplies you might consider. The
Federal Emergency Management Agency offers a
toll-free info hotline. And we've pulled together a
special Millennium Bug Countdown section with the
latest news reports.)
The most moving message I got was from a reader
who signed her name Jennifer B.
---"Thank you so very much for the insight to the
Y2K frenzy in the world," she wrote. "When I first
heard about Y2K I was pregnant and living with my
in-laws. My father-in-law started preparing the house
for the disaster. He got me so scared and I feared for
my unborn child's life. I was considering having an
abortion, just so I wouldn't have to worry about how I
was going to feed my child when the time came for the
stores to no longer have food. I was an emotional
wreck."
I appreciated the e-mail message of solidarity from
another reader, Dan Fry.
---"I just wanted to thank you for affirming my
sanity," he wrote. "Take care of yourself, and feel
comforted when you DO get the flames ... there is
someone right beside you."
John Pinkerton added that it was "nice to see a
level-headed dialog with a bit of levity in it."
Some readers even joined in the levity.
---"I could not agree with you more on all the hype
surrounding the Y2K issue," wrote Rick Wagner.
"Maybe you could write a helpful article next year on
turning that wood-burning stove into an attractive
planter and tasty recipes for all that freeze-dried food."

But then there were anguished messages from
readers who are genuinely alarmed or confused about
what might happen in the months ahead. Having been
subjected to the scare tactics of profiteering computer
consultants and a crisis-driven media, they yearn for
total assurances that there won't be some kind of
global catastrophe.
They seem to take little comfort in sensible analyses,
such as one from Alistair Stewart, a senior Year 2000
adviser with the info-tech research firm Giga
Information Group.
"Expect inconveniences at worst, but not
Armageddon," Stewart told the Newsbytes News
Network last month. "Buy batteries or a generator if it
makes you feel comfortable, but you don't need to
build a solar-powered generating station. And while
most building managers most likely will have updated
their systems, if the thought of riding an elevator at
midnight on Dec. 31, 1999, makes you nervous, use
the stairs."

The bandwagon of fear

It would have been far safer -- in terms of hate mail,
at least -- for me to hop on the hype bandwagon.
If the sky were to fall when Jan. 1, 2000, rolls
around, I could then gleefully say "told you so." On the
other hand, if the sky doesn't fall, I could join the huge
chorus of "experts" claiming that their doomsday
predications saved the world by forcing everyone to
prepare for the worst.
But it's important to speak out because we might
otherwise face a scarier threat than screwy computer
systems.
Steve Haffner, another reader, picked up on that
risk in his e-mail message:
---"You are correct in that computer problems
won't cause catastrophic business breakdowns. But
that doesn't mean catastrophe won't occur. When the
population starts getting nervous, they start behaving
irrationally. If people begin taking their money out of
banks and the stock market because they are
frightened, this could very well have catastrophic
consequences on many businesses and perhaps on our
entire economy. The breakdown will not be with the
computers, which tend to behave in predictable, logical
ways, but the people, who allow themselves to be
misinformed and emotionally manipulated."
Haffner voices a legitimate concern, a strong reason
indeed for pundits to refrain from fanning the fires of
fear. But I don't think a financial stampede is very
likely.
That's because I agree with the sentiments
expressed by another reader, Richard Malone, who
described himself as an info-technology educator.
---"Y2K will be the biggest non-event that has hit
the world since early civilizations went nuts over
eclipses," he wrote. "Of course there will be some
glitches when the date finally rolls over into year 2000.
There are thousands of computer glitches every day.
But + no, the stock market will not collapse. Satellite
service will continue. Military weapons won't misfire.
Banks will not lose your money (any more than usual).
Essential services like water and gas will not fail.
Government checks will go out (with the usual dull
efficiency). The government will not attempt or even
consider imposing martial law. There will be no black
helicopters with government special forces or gangs of
rioting people in the streets. My prediction is based
upon the solid common sense of the American
people."
Which brings me to the reason why I appear to
come down rather hard on "Russ" and his extremist ilk.
How can they even imagine that the American people
-- the nation that triumphed over the Great
Depression, over the Nazi war machine and over the
masters of the Soviet gulags -- might be beaten by a
computer bug?
"What nonsense," as Richard Malone puts it.

This person is going to suffer horribly. Both from the effects of Y2k
and from the knowledge that not only did he not prepare himself,
while he could, but that he actively discouraged others from making
life-saving preparations. I don't even get irritated by these people
anymore. It's just nausea...

E-
the folks I'm working with are making some *limited* preparations to
allow us to be able to provide a little bit of assistance to the
truly needy among the refugees...it just occurred to me that we'd
also better start asking folks a bit about *why* they didn't
prepare...seems to me there might be some sort of crimial action
against those effectively guilty of mass murder due to their
encouragement of inaction...whaddaya think?

Self-destructive behavior is such a bizarre thing. And yet, it's obvious that there are many people, grown adults, who genuinely hate themselves. Rather than store a few extra cans of food & a few bags or rice -- which is within nearly everyone's power to do -- they write long-winded essays about why they refuse prepare at all, for any kind of emergency, simply because someone else might stand to benefit financially from such preparation.

Two posts were deleted from this thread. Lurkers and trolls, it's
time to play hardball. Ed may be the sickest one in the whole sorry
bunch. What are you afraid of Ed? The first amendment; A shrinking
bottom line as your bullshit is exposed? He Ed where can I find your
De'Ja Vu article? HaHa

Dwight, which posts were deleted? Ed said he will only delete posts at
the request of the author. I've been here since July and haven't
noticed once single instance of deleted/censored posts on any threads.